A new parallel corpus approach to Japanese learners’ English, using their corrected essays

This research introduces unique parallel corpora to uncover linguistic behaviors in L2argumentative writing in the exact correspondence to their appropriate forms provided byEnglish native speakers (NSs). The current paper targets at the mysterious behavior of I thinkin argumentative prose. I think is regarded as arguably problematic and controversial in L2writing community; the overuse of this marker underscores the points, confusing logicaldevelopment, while the rubric of argumentative writing tests such as TOELF and IELTSrequires test-takers to write their personal views. Actually, I think is favoured as a booster inacademic writing of particular disciplines. Our approach resolves this, investigating how Ithink was used in Japanese students’ writing and corrected by NSs, specifically, how I thinkwas deleted or kept by NSs. This is a promising method and immediately applicable toclassroom teaching, where university students can receive feedback from our unique parallelcorpora.